Three-Day State-Level Students’ Residential Workshop at CSIR-CBRI,

A Three-Day State-Level Students’ Residential Workshop was organized during August 27-29, 2019 at CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee to introduce students to innovative techniques of building materials, health monitoring and rehabilitation of the structures, disaster mitigation, fire safety, energy efficient rural and urban housing etc.

On August 27, 2019, the Inauguration Ceremony of the programme, Sh. Vinod Kumar, Assistant Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Region graced the occasion as Chief Guest and Sh. S.K. Negi, Chief Scientist presided over the function. Dr. Atul Kumar Agarwal conducted the programme.

Students welcomed the dignitaries with the full Scouts’ Protocol and a Welcome Song. The workshop commenced with Lightening of Lamp by dignitaries, Saraswati Vandana and various cultural programmes by students.

Addressing the gathering, Sh. Vinod Kumar motivated the students to adopt a scientific view to life. He said that everything and every action have some scientific explanation and we can uncover many interesting scientific facts in our daily activities through our scientific inquisitiveness.

In his Presidential Address, Sh. S.K. Negi welcomed the students on behalf of Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan, Director, CSIR- CBRI, Roorkee and asked the students to take advantage of this unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience and knowledge on various fields science and research through active participation in the workshop.

Dr. Atul Kumar Agarwal said that sometimes one has to forget the old concepts to attain new information. Therefore, the student should discard all their doubts and participate in the workshop with single-mindedness to acquire new knowledge and clear the doubts through healthy discussions with the scientists.

Dr. L.P. Singh, Principal Scientist raised the morale of the students and said that the workshop is integral for both students and scientists as students attain new knowledge whereas the scientists may gain an innovative perspective to a problem during brainstorming with the students. Shri V.K. Tyagi, Principal KV No. 1 and Shri Arvind Kumar, Principal KV No. 2 also graced the occasion. Dr. L.P. Singh proposed a vote of thanks.

The technical sessions commenced with the display of CSIR & CBRI achievements through science films. CSIR- CBRI scientists presented lectures on building science and technology and motivational lectures including lecture on “Fire Risk Mitigation in Tall Buildings” by Dr. Suvir Singh, Chief Scientist; “Basics of Earthquake Engineering and Mitigation” by Dr. Achal Mittal, Senior Principal Scientist; “Scientific Journey of CSIR & CBRI”, “Career Opportunities”, “Inculcating Scientific Temper: 3 Ks of Jigyasa” and “Secrets to Success” by Dr. Atul Kumar Agarwal; and “Building Materials : Past to Future” by Dr. L.P. Singh.

Lectures were also presented on other scientific concepts by invited experts including lecture on “Insects- Our Nasty Neighbours” by Dr. G.K. Mahapatro, Head, IARI Regional Centre Pune; “Atoms & BARC in Human Service” by Dr. Kulwant Singh, Scientist ‘H’, BARC, Mumbai; and “Tunnel Engineering” by Dr. R.K. Goel, Scientist In-charge, CSIR-CIMFR, Dhanbad Roorkee Regional Centre.

A Written Quiz Competition was organized for the students under the programme, wherein all the students answered questions about various topics of science and scientific institutions. An Oral Quiz Competition was organized for the students, under which questions were asked from various subjects including Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics etc., in various rounds.

Students learnt about various concepts of science and mathematics through experiments under the guidance of scientists and teachers. Copies of CSIR monthly science magazines ‘Vigyan Pragati’ and ‘Science Reporter’ were distributed to the students to encourage them to read scientific magazines and journals to enrich their knowledge.

Students visited the Technology Gallery, Rural Park and various laboratories of the Institute during the workshop- Rural Park, Fire Research, Environment Science and Technology - Clay Products, Efficiency in Building and Structural Engineering etc., interacted with the Institute's scientists and cleared their doubts through interactive Q&A sessions.

A visit to the laboratories of National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee was also organized to educate the students on the importance of water conservation. Dr. S.K. Jain, Director, NIH, Roorkee motivated the students to participate actively in the programme and learn the basics of water conservation. Dr. Atul Agarwal, CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee along with scientists of NIH, Roorkee interacted with the students and strengthened their concepts.

CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee also organized Students’ Fitness Awareness Programme on August 29, 2019 to celebrate the launch of “Fit Movement” observing the Birth Anniversary of great Indian Hockey Player Major Dhyan Chand. Dr. Atul Kumar Agarwal administered the “Fitness Pledge” to the students. Dr. L.P. Singh and Sh. V.K. Tyagi motivated the students to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

During the Concluding Session of the workshop, a Panel Session was organized with the panellists Dr. Atul Kumar Agarwal, Dr. Kulwant Singh, Dr. L. P. Singh and Sh. V.K. Tyagi. The students and teachers shared their experiences and feedback during the session. The programme received a positive feedback from the participants wherein they described it as interesting, creative and informative and expressed their desire to participate in more such programmes in the near future. The dignitaries felicitated winners of the Quiz Competition organized during the workshop. The programme concluded with the distribution of certificates to the participants.

Students from various Kendriya Vidyalayas of State including KVS of , Raiwala, Banbasa, Gauchar, I shift, Haldwani II shift, BHEL , KV No. 1, Roorkee and KV No. 2, Roorkee, along with their teachers participated in the workshop.